Refrigerator ice rack



JanJze, 1937; M. HOKANSON 2,069,148

REFRIGERATOR ICE RACK Filed Sept. 10, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

MV'AVM m ATTORNEY.

Jan. 26, 1937. HQKANSQN 2,069,148

REFRIGERATOR ICE RACK Filed Sept. 10, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 26, 1937 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR ICE RACK Martin Hokanson, Duluth, Minn., assignor to Eidco, Inc., Duluth, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Application September 10, 1934, Serial No. 743,394

4 Claims.

This invention relates to racks and has special reference to one having corrugations therein and particularly adapted for use in supporting ice in a refrigerator; the principal object being not only to produce a more efiicient and practical rack, but to produce a rectangularly shaped rack formed from a circular piece of sheet metal which results in an exceedingly simple process of manufacture.

Another object is to produce such a rack having maximum strength and conductivity with the least weight possible.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a layout of the blank from which the rack is formed.

Figure 2 is a section through a fragmental portion of a refrigerator equipped with one of the improved racks.

Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevation of a portion of the rack installed within a refrigerator.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a fragmental portion of the fabricated angle for support of the rack at its ends.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a fragmental 30 portion of the forward end of the rack with the angle applied thereto.

Figure 6 is a top plan View of the rack.

A plan view of the rack is shown in Figure 6; obviously it is rectangular in shape, the width 35 and height being illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, while the length of the rack is determined by the number of corrugations desired.

The paramount novel feature of the present invention is that a rectangularly shaped corrugated 40 rack is produced from a single circular sheet of metal, and may be accomplished in the simplest manner possible. The sides of each V-shaped corrugation formed in the rack are illustrated at I, and longitudinally of the valley of each cor- 45 rugation is provided a series of spaced drainage holes 2, which, upon the layout of the blank as shown in Figure 1, appear radially disposed in respect to the circle. A rearmost drainage hole 3 is provided by forming the triangularly shaped 5 end walls 4 in truncated form as at 5 shown upon the blank, which, when folded to overlapped position, tends to hold the lowermost edges of the side walls I in spaced relation, and this spaced relation tapers to nothing at the opposite 55 or front end of the rack, as illustrated in dotted lines at 6 in Figure 3. The front Wall flaps 1 are of true tri-angular form, and it is obvious that the size of these flaps as well as the size of the rear wall flaps determines the size of the corrugations and circular piece of metal required. 5

It is to be-noted that in the embodiment here illustrated, one sector of the circle is discarded, except that terminal flanges indicated at 8 are formed by a portion only of said sector 9 being left and folded downwardly and inwardly upon 0 themselves for forming said parallel sided flange 8.

Reinforcement for the ends of the rack are provided in the form of small angle bars l0, preferably made of folded strips of the same ma- 5 terial which comprises the rack and fixed thereto as by spot welding or riveting as desired. These angles alsoform the supporting means for the rack by resting upon a ledge in the front wall I l of the refrigerator, while at the rear end of the 20 rack the angle it rests upon a similar angle l2 fixed to the inside of the rear wall l3 of the refrigerator; one side wall of the latter being shown at M against which the side flanges 8 of the rack simply abut, and they being folded as previ- 5 ously described form a smooth rounded edge for such engagement permitting also of convenience in removing or replacing of the rack without interference and making a tight and neat fit.

At [5 is illustrated the inclined drip pan which is preferably of corrugated metal, the upper surface of which, as is known, should be maintained in a moist condition for best results, and this is provided for by the spaced drainage openings before referred to. The lowermost drainage hole 3 occurs substantially centrally of the space intermediate of the back wall l6 of the food compartment and the rear wall l3 of the refrigerator, which arrangement has the advantage of augmenting circulation by the falling of water in said space. It will be noted that the forming of the corrugations or channels from a circular piece of metal results in the angle between the top line of the corrugations and the lowermost ends being slightly acute which brings the drip point of the inner ends of the corrugations substantially centrally over the space above described.

As before stated the support for the rack within a refrigerator is preferably accomplished by providing small angle bars l0 folded for added strength as indicated in Figure 4 of the drawings; the opposed edges being of sawtooth form, those upon one edge being indicated at IT and those upon the other edge at I 8, the former 5 being designed to snugly fit within the forward end of the corrugations and bent at right angles to the body portion ll] of the bar, while the teeth I8 formed parallel with the teeth I! abut against the outer face of the end wall of the corrugations. When the teeth of both edges are thus assembled they may be either riveted as indicated at 20 or spot welded, in which event it is obvious there are four thicknesses of metal at the ends of the corrugations. At the opposite or deeper end of the corrugations the same construction and attachment of similar angle bar is employed, though, of course, the teeth l1 and I8 do not need to extend to the full depth of the end walls of said corrugations.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. An ice rack formed from sheet metal and having inclined corrugations therein, angle bars fixed transverse the ends of the corrugations for supporting the rack, said angle bars being made of like material as that of the rack, folded upon itself, and engaging both sides of the ends of the corrugations in the rack.

2. An ice rack, having alternate parallel, contiguous V-shaped corrugations therein, said corrugations being of relatively deep acute angular form at one end and of shallow obtuse angular form at the other end.

3. An ice rack the main body portion of which is formed of sheet metal having parallel V-shaped corrugations therein and supported from the upper edge of the ends of the corrugations by angle bars fixed thereto.

4. The combination with a refrigerator, of an ice rack in the upper part thereof the bottom of which is inclined downwardly toward the rear of said refrigerator, a food compartment the back wall of which is spaced from the back of the refrigerator, and the lower edge of said ice rack being arranged to direct the drip along a line at the top of said space in position to fall directly into said space.

MARTIN I-IOKANSON. 

